Two local traditions to be celebrated next weekend

The Dodge City Lions Club hopes you're hungry.They'll be cooking up stacks of pancakes for three days during the Tournament of Champions. It's a tradition with a purpose

Comment

By Don SteeleDodge City Daily Globe

Dodge City Daily Globe - Dodge City, KS

By Don SteeleDodge City Daily Globe

Posted Jan. 11, 2013 at 3:00 AM

By Don SteeleDodge City Daily Globe

Posted Jan. 11, 2013 at 3:00 AM

The Dodge City Lions Club hopes you're hungry.
They'll be cooking up stacks of pancakes for three days during the Tournament of Champions. It's a tradition with a purpose.
A crew of 12 to 15 Lions plus a few spouses will serve 1,500 to 1,600 plates of food over the three-day pancake feed.
The Ladies in Pink from the high school and a crew from Youthville help out in various ways and the staff of the Armory pitch in to help.
The annual pancake feed is the club's major fundraising effort and they depend on the dollars they earn flipping pancakes to fund such projects as the T.O.C. Sportsmanship trophy, the Salvation Army bell ringers, the city tree program, scholarships for nursing and technical students at DC3, sponsorship of DCHS students to Lions Band Camp and the old eye glasses program.
In addition, the club provides financial support for other Dodge City area agencies including juvenile diabetes, Relay for Life, the Gates Foundation Measles Program and natural disaster recovery efforts.
And the club participates in several national Lions programs such as the sight screening program, the Kansas Lions Foundation and Lions Club International.
"Our big problem is declining membership," said Charles Wilkerson, current president of the club.
"The average age of the club keeps rising. Health issues have slowed some of the members. We need to attract new members to the club," he said.
The club meets at noon every Wednesday at Casey's Cowtown.
"We invite anyone who's interest in joining to come as a guest for a few meetings to check out the Lions Club. It's not just a mens' club — we've had women members since 1984," Wilkerson said.
"And we're trying to educate the public about the good things the Lions Club does."
Anyone interested in joining the club can call 225-4983 or 227-3910 for information.
Basketball and pancakes
The Lions Club pancake feed is always scheduled to coincide with Tournament of Champions weekend.
The tournament brings big crowds to town and restaurants are full, plus people like to look for something different.
For years, the pancake feed's location at the National Guard Armory was right next door to the tournament, which was held at the Civic Center.
Last year's move of the tournament to United Wireless Arena prompted some concern that the pancake feed might suffer.
"There was no evidence of decline in attendance due to the move," Wilkerson said.
Wilkerson reminds those attending the pancake feed to bring their old eye glasses for donation. Lions Clubs around the country collect and distribute the glasses to needy countries around the world.
IF YOU GO
What: Lions Club Pancake Feed
Where: National Guard Armory
When: 5 to 7:30 p.m. Jan. 17
5 to 7:30 p.m. Jan. 18
7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jan. 19
Tickets: $3.50 in advance, $4 at the door
Children under 6 are admitted free